Tim Burke

Who is Tim Burke?

Timothy James "Tim" Burke, known by his ring name Lucifer, was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter who competed in numerous East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions during the 1990s and early 2000s; among the promotions he appeared in included the Atlantic Wrestling Federation, East Coast Wrestling Association, Cueball Carmichael's Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance, Long Island Wrestling Federation, New Jack City Wrestling, Regional Championship Wrestling, United Independent Wrestling, and the Wrestling Independent Network.

As co-founder of the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation with promoter Dennis Wipprecht, Burke was a major figure in Maryland professional wrestling during the 1990s. He not only brought in stars from Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation to the area but gave many future independent stars their first big break in the business. His "Brain Buster's Pro Wrestling Academy", the MEWF's official training facility, produced many of these wrestlers, most notably, Ruckus and Tonya Stevens.

Burke went into semi-retirement after the MEWF folded in 2004, partially due to his declining health, and spent his final years in Maryland Championship Wrestling until his death from cancer six years later. He wrestled his final match at MCW's "Legends of Maryland" show against the Cat Burglar on November 7, 2009, and where he was inducted into the MCW Hall of Fame. The company, which competed against the MEWF in a bitter 5-year rivalry, acknowledged Burke and Wipprecht's role in developing "indy wrestling" on the East Coast and "had it not been for these two men there may not be wrestling in Maryland today".